CC Minutes - 06/27/05 Mtg - Laserfiche WebLink

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business" were the long-term policy of arbitrary changes in consolidation of land and zoning and the preference given to larger structures such as Whole Foods. He commented that he could not find a place for his business along the river because everyone who held land that was zoned C-1 Commercial was convinced that they could change to a C-3 zoning and increase the value of their properties. Gavin McComas, 1350 East 25th Avenue, owner of Sundance Natural Foods Store, recognized that the proposal was part of a complex set of factors being considered. He supported the Shedd Institute and downtown viability. He agreed that as far as ;;mega-corporations" go, Whole Foods was noted for being a very progressive and sophisticated corporation. He said, however, that the Whole Foods corporation had a strategy of moving into an area with smaller natural foods markets because this ensured it a customer base. In that sense, he asserted that Whole Foods was ;;predatory." He remarked that no matter ;;how green they seem" this was its strategy for advancement. As for buying local produce, he said Whole Foods did indicate a preference for doing so; but, as it expanded, the store had to institute centralized buying which meant more produce from far away places. He remarked that independent natural food stores were traditionally homey places that brought charm to the community. He averred that replacing such stores with ;;big box corporate chains," no matter how green they appeared, threatened to ;;eviscerate" the charm and uniqueness inherent in the smaller stores. He called it short-sighted to think that ;;these corporate interlopers" enhanced the towns they ;;invaded." He predicted that residents would lose that sense of belonging and connectedness that smaller stores provide and Eugene would become a less attractive place to visit or set up a business. He was skeptical that a big box store could transform downtown and strongly opposed the utilization of any public money to support larger retailers. Don Bishoff, 2688 Onyx Street, urged the council to reject spending any money toward a store that had allegedly participated in union busting. He said the founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Whole Foods once called unions ~parasites" and compared employing union workers to having herpes. He reported that a movement to unionize workers at the Whole Foods store in Madison, Wisconsin was defeated by management over the course of two years and that management allegedly violated laws governing labor negotiations by stalling negotiations and firing union leaders. He noted the talk on the part of elected officials about the need for community standards for businesses that operate in Eugene, especially those that want City help. He submitted to the council that there was no place for City cooperation with any corporation whose CEO compared unions to a sexually transmitted disease. He underscored that the community had undergone three years of ~ugliness" because of the union-busting attempts of an existing local company with which he had acquaintance and urged the council to tell Whole Foods to go elsewhere. Shawn Boles, 105 North Adams Street, expressed appreciation for the institution of the SBI and suggested that it not be treated as window dressing. He agreed with concerns expressed regarding the possible location of the Whole Foods store and the increasing costs of oil and the lack of access to it. He called these the facts the City had to live with that bore directly on the concept of sustainability. He urged councilors to look at the issues before them with respect to the downtown area and analyze ideas to determine if they were sustainable or not. He said to the council, in closing, that if it did not ~know how to fix it, don't break it, and if you don't know how to replace it, don't use it up." Robert Bolman, 882 Almaden Street, said he was not wild about the idea of having an out-of-town corporation run the Kiva out of business. However, he was present chiefly to speak about density in the Chambers area node. He was concerned that neighbors were trying to decrease the maximum number of dwellings that could be built on a lot. He sympathized with their intent to maintain the character of the neighborhood but only on the assumption that some %erious nodal development" would occur along the MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 27, 2005 Page 3 Regular Session